IN academic language, there is only one book on Forbes Burnham — Linden Lewis’ Forbes Burnham: The Life and Times of the Comrade Leader.
This is a plausibly written biography of Burnham. Published this year, the book is a well-laid-out portrait of Burnham, but in my review (Guyana Chronicle, Tuesday, March, 5, 2024), I pointed out that Professor Lewis did not give full attention to the psychological aspects of Burnham’s life.

I don’t believe Professor Lewis accepted that you can find some of the keys to Burnham’s demonic exercise of power through Freudian analysis. Also, I thought Dr Lewis was too soft on Burnham’s incredible excesses which are graphically outlined in Father Andrew Morrison’s great work – Justice: The Struggle for Democracy in Guyana, 1952-1992.
Father’s compilation is compulsory reading to understand the mind of Burnham, although in writing his book, Father paid no attention to the shape of Burnham’s mind. But Burnham’s mind is on display in the volume based on the meticulous details of Father in describing Burnham’s chauvinistic abuse of people and power.

It would be bad academic analysis to compare Dr Lewis’ biography with Father’s seminal historical work. They use different methodologies in describing Burnham’s descent into authoritarianism. Dr Lewis’ work is based on a scholarly analysis of Burnham’s handling of power. Father eschewed analysis and simply offered descriptions of events with Burnham in the middle of things. If you are looking for scholarly assessment of Burnham go to Lewis. If you want to see how cruel Burnham was, then go to Father’s work.
Tyrone Ferguson has written an insightful work on Burnham’s reign. Titled “To Survive Sensibly or Court Heroic Death: Management of Guyana’s Political Economy, 1965 -1985,” this is not a publication that specifically looks at the man Burnham and his politics.
What Ferguson set out to do was to look at the politics, economics and sociology of Guyana during that period. But his details provide vital knowledge of how permanent power became a cancer in Guyana.

The difference between Lewis and Ferguson is that the latter tried to avoid putting Burnham at the centre of his research, while this was the intention of Lewis. This explains their difference in their perspectives on Rodney’s assassination.
Ferguson becomes weird in suggesting that it was out of character for Burnham to want to plan the murder of an opposition activist and concluded that Rodney was killed by over-zealous apparatchiks (my word) to protect Burnham (pages 295-297). Lewis on the other hand, holds to the mainstream account that does not exonerate Burnham in the complicity to assassinate Rodney.

I think Professor Lewis’ research on Burnham did not include an examination of an obscure autobiography written by a man who belonged to an era long gone. It would have been useful for Dr Lewis to have consulted this book. The fact that the author was unknown at the time of the publication of his autobiography contributed to the obscurity of the book.

Oscar Ramjeet became an important legal state official under President Forbes Burnham whom he knew profoundly, since he was a law clerk in Burnham’s office long before Burnham became Prime Minister. Titled, “From Errand Boy to Solicitor-General: The Memoirs of Oscar Ramjeet,” this publication has a useful chapter on Burnham.
When you read Father Morrison’s portrayal of Burnham alongside Ramjeet’s autobiography, then the destructive legacy of Forbes Burnham’s permanent power stares you in the face.
In a chapter on Burnham’s liquor and food list on his foreign travels, Father describes the foreign food and liquor Burnham would indulge himself in at a time when Burnham had banned a wide range of imports including the very stuff he had on the plane when he travelled, and always the accompanying contingent would be large.

Ramjeet describes the weirdness of Burnham that gives you goose bumps as you read his chapter. He said Burnham would summon him and top officials at the Office of the President late at night to discuss policies (this was in the early 80s).
The confabulations would go into the uncivilised hours (my choice of words) and after they left nothing of what Burnham summoned them for was ever discussed. Ramjeet said the discussions would centre on small talks about personal issues in Burnham’s life.
Finally, there is Halim Majeed’s book, “Forbes Burnham: National Reconciliation and National Unity, 1984-1985.” Majeed writes positively about Burnham’s nationalism, but Majeed was perhaps unaware that in telling the story of Burnham’s need to have a joint government with the PPP, he was also showing the “onemanism” in Burnham’s approach to politics. Burnham and Burnham alone dictated what he wanted from the unity talks. Not the PNC but he, Burnham.

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.